Potatoes vary in size, shape, color, texture and time to maturity. Maturation time is the most important variable, because potato tubers grow best when soil temperatures range between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Try to get your crop harvested before hot summer temperatures arrive.
Early varieties that mature in less than 90 days are good fits for any garden. Creamy, round ‘Irish Cobbler,’ purple-skinned ‘Caribe,’ and prolific ‘Red Norland’ fall into this group, along with ‘King Harry,’ which is resistant to Colorado potato beetles.
Midseason varieties mature in 100 days or so, and include ‘Yukon Gold’ and ‘Red LaSoda,’ which is often the top-producing potato in warm climates.
Late varieties need 110 days or more of growing time, but they typically produce a heavy set of tubers that keep well in storage. ‘Butte’ is an all-purpose brown-skinned potato that performs well when grown in the Midwest; ‘Katahdin’ and ‘Kennebec’ rule in the Northeast.
Elongated fingerling potatoes vary in their maturation times and come in a range of colors and sizes. None are very early, but late-maturing fingerlings will size up earlier if you pre-sprout the seed potatoes before you plant them.
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